2009 February | Wonderings and Wanderings

Wonderings and Wanderings » Archive for February 2009

Lifeway at it again

February 27th, 2009 | 3 Comments

Maybe you’ve heard by now or have seen this in stores recently but Lifeway Christian Stores have done it again in their quest to play the role of Holy Spirit in the lives of readers. In January, they put this disclaimer on their website and began placing “Please Read with Discernment™.” stickers on select books by select authors. (Please note the trademark on that phrase.)

Shouldn’t everything be read with discernment? If not, then we could save a readwithdiscernment lot of money by returning to a few select religious leaders having the only copies of the Scripture and just telling us what it says. (Hmmm.. wait a minute… that sounds familiar.) Of course, that would impact sales as well so perhaps not. To their credit, Lifeway does state that:

While we recognize that almost every title requires some measure of discernment, certain titles should clearly be read with extra discernment.

Who has earned this sacred sticker indicating the need for extra discernment? Well, so far, the lucky winners (in no particular order) are Rob Bell, Donald Miller, and Brian McLaren. Bell is most known for Velvet Elvis, Miller for Blue Like Jazz and McLaren for … well, several heretical works that encourage loving God, loving others, and kingdom living this side of death. The nerve…..

I only wish that these stickers had been on these books when I first discovered them. Perhaps I wouldn’t have bought every book currently published by each of these authors. I would have saved money and an entire row on my bookshelf for safe, Lifeway-Spirit endorsed books that can teach me that God wants to bless me with money and stuff; that I was destined by God to buy that book by that author on that day; that I’m not fulfilling my purpose in life by staying single and childless; and that I want to be like Kirk Cameron and not be left behind.

Unfortunately, there were no stickers available at the time I saw those flashy titles calling to me from the various displays. I love Jazz and the Smurfs. How could I not pick up a copy of Blue Like Jazz? Jazzy Smurf was one of my favorites. Imagine my surprise when I started reading. And don’t get me started on Bell and McLaren.

Without the aid of the discernment labels, I was exposed to such unsound theology as:

God is love.
God is mysterious.
It isn’t about me.
Jesus wasn’t joking when he said “Love God with everything and love your neighbor. Everything hinges on these two commandments.”
The Kingdom of God is the here and now, not just the everafter.
The grace of God shows no partiality and has no limits.
Penguins have good sex.

Thanks a lot, Lifeway. It’s too late now. I’m obviously screwed up.

Filed under: Books, Current Affairs, Spiritual Formation

Crazy Sister Love

February 20th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Today I turned in my devotion for our upcoming Lenten devotional book here at the church. It is a wonderful treasure of writings and art from members of our church and it is a blessing to read the thoughts and hearts of individuals that often don’t get the opportunity to share.

My devotion was based on the John 12:1-11 passage where Jesus is anointed with expensive oils by Mary, Lazarus’s sister.

Growing up, my sister and I had your normal sibling love/hate relationship. I can remember some fun times and I remember some passionate fights but when she left for college, our friendship blossomed and two years later when I followed her to college, we roomed together. We often made trips to Springfield, Missouri, for some “culture” and that included shopping. On one trip to Battlefield Mall, we walked past a store of paintings and prints and I was struck by one displayed in the window. It was a large print of a painting titled Reflections by Lee Teter of a man leaning against the Vietnam Memorial with soldier images reflected from inside “The Wall”. I fell in love with the print immediately and went in to see how much it cost. It was $60. It might as well have been $600 to this poor college student.

Several months later on my nineteenth birthday, I unwrapped the gift from my sister – still a college student herself. It was the print. I was in shock. What an extravagant gift for her to give to me! Especially when I could be such a brat of a sister. It is one of the few gifts that I’ve ever cried over – not because of how much it cost (which I felt bad about) but because I knew she loved me. She really loved me!

Mary loved Jesus. She really loved Him. So much so that she broke the alabaster jar and poured onto the feet of Jesus her most extravagant gift. The disciples were shocked at the waste of such expensive oils but they missed the point. This was a sacred moment with Jesus. Mary realized it. Mary sensed it. And Mary responded giving all that she had – the precious oils and herself – in love to Christ.

My sister broke the alabaster jar and gave me a cherished print – and her love. Today, that print hangs in my living room in a prominent place. When I look at it, I am moved not only by the story in the painting but by the story behind the painting as well.

What is in your alabaster jar? What is in mine? What is the most extravagant and sacrificial gift we can present to Jesus on this journey to the Cross to show our love for Him and Him alone?

Filed under: Family, Spiritual Formation

C-Group Aroma

February 18th, 2009 | 3 Comments

Two weeks ago the weekly high school small group (we call them c-groups) that meets in my home multiplied into two groups. We had 12-14 kids coming consistently and it was too large for a small group. Not everyone could be heard. It was difficult to get through a lesson, etc. We had talked for quite awhile that we would need to multiply one day when our group was large enough and strong enough. And the day came. We planted a new c-group on Monday nights with two youth stepping up to co-lead it. It is so awesome! I love to see that happen even when I’m sad about not seeing certain kids every week at my house. But it is a good thing because more youth will be reached this way.

As a result, last night I had my first c-group at my house that was all guys. Me and five guys. We played Wii for awhile than got to our small group share time. Answering irrelevant questions, etc. As the rest of the lesson progressed, it was interrupted on occasion with farts. At first there was some attempt to disguise farting-man them or to at least pretend it was some weird noise like a chair creaking or a shoe sliding on the table. But after awhile, the level of comfort was completely there and rather than that being expressed in answers to questions, it was expressing through farting.

The highlight: We gather in our circle, arms across shoulders and as I close the prayer, …… yep, you guessed it. A musical AMEN escaped from one of the members.

We wondered if Jesus and the disciples ever had these kind of gatherings around fires or on boats or in places where they stayed on their travels. We agreed that where two or three guys are gathered ….